Sector in the news: The energy companies

Public anger has been directed at energy companies in recent days, says Phil Oakley. Yet, these two providers could be worth buying for the long term.

The big energy companies are hiking their prices again. It's understandable that this is unpopular with consumers but while Labour leader Ed Miliband might think that freezing prices is the answer to this problem, it isn't.

It's difficult to say that the energy market works well for consumers. That's because none of the big players seems to be able to offer us consistently cheaper prices.

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Phil spent 13 years as an investment analyst for both stockbroking and fund management companies.

 

After graduating with a MSc in International Banking, Economics & Finance from Liverpool Business School in 1996, Phil went to work for BWD Rensburg, a Liverpool based investment manager. In 2001, he joined ABN AMRO as a transport analyst. After a brief spell as a food retail analyst, he spent five years with ABN's very successful UK Smaller Companies team where he covered engineering, transport and support services stocks.

 

In 2007, Phil joined Halbis Capital Management as a European equities analyst. He began writing for MoneyWeek in 2010.